Monday, March 16, 2009

Unproven Quackery MANDATED for US Vets!

H.R. 1017: "To amend the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 and title 38, United States Code, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans at all Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and to expand access to such care and services."

This bill mandates the coverage of "periodic and preventative chiropractic examinations and services."

I wonder, How periodic? And what do these services prevent? And, uh... evidence?

Latest Major Action: 2/12/2009 Referred to House subcommittee.Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.*************************

Here's an idea, Mr. Legislator:

SCIENCE!

Why allow a certain anti-MD, anti-vaccination cult a means of bypassing the rules of evidence that others must respect?

Legislating the notion that a medical claim about the body is true, or that some intervention has been proven safe and effective --when the evidence simply isn't there-- is a form of Lysenkoism. Lysenko's example illustrates how political interference in the scientific process can profoundly cripple a scientific community for decades.

Your health, my health, and the health of all Americans deserve no less than medical therapies tested according to sound scientific methods.

Please don't blur the boundary between medicine and pseudo-medicine. Please support the nascent but growing science-based medicine community in the United States by opposing H.R. 1017.***************

If you enjoy Whack-A-Mole-ing nonsense, do visit the Library of Congress. More:

H.R.484Title: To require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to provide chiropractic health care services and benefits for certain new beneficiaries as part of the TRICARE program.

This bill includes language to limit chiropractic services to chiropractors. Not that I care, but there are some medical doctors and osteopaths out there willing to crack your back, so this might matter to them.